iNQUIRE Taking students and teachers deeper into Information Inquiry! Samantha Tabor & Kayla Stewart *adapted from 2013, LME 508 for use in Professional Portfolio -2016

What is the Big 6?

BIG 6 – in Kid Friendly Terms 1. Wonder Task Identification–Students will recognize what they need to know. They will think vaguely about a topic that they are wondering about. Information Seeking Strategies–Students will take the wonder stage to the next level by formulating a question and planning for their research. 2. Explore Location and Access--Students will locate and access information that they need to answer their question(s). Information Use--Students will analyze, evaluate and use information to gain understanding about their topic.

Big 6 (Cont.) 3. Report Synthesis– Students will make conclusions by putting together all that they have learned through their inquiry. Students will create a way to present their conclusions. 4. Evaluate Evaluation—Students will reflect on their inquiry and determine the value of what they have learned. Additional Note This model is recursive– sometimes steps will need to be re- visited.

21st Century Rational for Our Model Our digital world calls for new skills, knowledge and ways of learning to prepare students for life in the 21st century. Inquiry enables students to gain a deep understanding, think critically and make informed decisions. Teachers alone cannot create an environment where students inquire, participate, create and learn in our information world. Our inquiry model is a way for teachers to meet curriculum requirements through engaging, motivating and challenging learning experiences.

Learning Outcomes for Elementary Students Information Literacy – “the ability to locate, evaluate and use information.” Students will gain the skills, dispositions, responsibilities, and self assessment strategies for “learning how to learn.” Students will gain subject area content knowledge. Literacy Competence – students who are immersed in reading, writing, speaking, viewing and listening in engaging, interesting, self selected material improve their reading ability. Social Skills – Students interact and collaborate with others on teams and in learning communities supported by Web 2.0 applications.

Roles and Responsibilities of Educators Revisit initial questions, help students draw conclusions from their information and present it in order to demonstrate their new learning 3) Give students open-ended questions, encourage sharing of ideas, plan with students difference resources to use, talk with students about refining their searches and evaluating sources. 2) Facilitate deep student discussion, encourage students to make connections to prior knowledge, emphasize choice and higher order thinking, provide time for student talk 1) Introduce a learning task, value student thinking, model, listen, observe and talk to students, help students connect their initial questions to curriculum

Units/Lessons for Inquiry Unit Outline Lesson 1: Wonder– What kinds of things do we wonder about? Lesson 2: Wonder– How can I narrow my topic to ask a meaningful question? Lesson 3: Explore: What kinds of sources are out there to help me inquire about my question? How can I locate sources? Lesson 4: Explore: How should I record what I’m learning from my sources? Lesson 5: Report: What can I conclude from my inquiry? How should I report what I’ve learned? Lesson 6: Evaluate: How can I determine the value of my inquiry? What are some self-assessment strategies I can use after creating a conclusion?

Unit/Lessons for Inquiry (Cont.) The unit can be adapted for any grade within the elementary school setting. Example: 2nd Grade—Studying biographies of influential Americans. Lesson: Students will learn how to determine which information is most important and organize their information in a logical way. (Beginning of reporting stage) 21st Century Learning Standard Connections: (2.1.2)- Organize knowledge so that it is useful. (2.1.4)-Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information. (2.4.1)- Determine how to act on information (accept, reject, modify). Common Core Connections-- W.2.7--Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations). RI.2.9-- Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.

Last Call Don’t try and “reinvent the wheel” Think about ways that this inquiry model can fit into your favorite lessons. Schedule times in the library and computer lab for your students to locate and access information that they need to answer their question(s) and gain understanding about their curriculum related topics. Expect improvements in motivation, behavior and test scores! Last, report any successes or trouble-shooting along the way to your Professional Learning Community for support. Don’t give up!

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action Pathfinders At this site you can find kindergarten through fifth grade English Language Arts standards. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action Users can search the database for lesson plans by learning standards and indicators, content topic, grade-level, resources used, type of lesson or schedule, keyword and much more. Guided Inquiry: School Libraries and the 21st Century School libraries are the primary agents for promoting 21st century information inquiry skills. This article discusses five kinds of learning outcomes accomplished through inquiry. In this source, you can find a chapter on information inquiry models. We used this literature for a our own information inquiry plan. Getting Started with Student Inquiry An article that anchors the inquiry process in four key phases and identifies teacher and student actions for each. It also ends with six tips for getting started with including student inquiry as an approach to learning.

References AASL. (2009). Standards for the 21st-Century learner in action. Chicago, Illinois: American Association of School Librarians. Getting started with student inquiry. (2011). Capacity Building Series, Special Edition. Ontario Student Achievement Division. Kentucky Department of Education, (2010). Kentucky core academic standards. Retrieved from website: http://education.ky.gov/curriculum/docs/Documents/KentuckyComm onCore_ELA.pdf Kuhlthau, C. (2010). Guided inquiry: School libraries in the 21st century. School Libraries Worldwide, 16(1), 17-28. Riedling, A. M., Shake, L., & Houston, C. (2013). Reference skills for school librarians: Tools and tips. Santa Barbara, California: Linworth.